Summit Trail Advisors LLC Reduces Stake in Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV)

Summit Trail Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Valvoline Inc. (NYSE:VVV) by 20.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,851 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 2,011 shares during the period. Summit Trail Advisors LLC’s holdings in Valvoline were worth $284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Valvoline during the second quarter valued at $310,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Valvoline by 46.5% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,465 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Valvoline by 92.1% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 630 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Valvoline by 17.9% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 10,969 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $459,000 after acquiring an additional 1,664 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in Valvoline by 83.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,332 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 604 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 96.13% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Charles M. Sonsteby purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $39.50 per share, with a total value of $395,000.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 26,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,044,261.50. This represents a 60.84 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CTO Robert Travis Dobbins sold 1,914 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.00, for a total transaction of $76,560.00. Following the sale, the chief technology officer now owns 14,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $598,240. This trade represents a 11.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.66% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Valvoline Trading Down 1.2 %

Valvoline stock opened at $39.63 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.39, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a current ratio of 0.70. Valvoline Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $33.90 and a fifty-two week high of $48.26. The stock has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $37.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $39.76.

Valvoline (NYSE:VVV) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The basic materials company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. Valvoline had a return on equity of 143.64% and a net margin of 16.34%. Equities research analysts forecast that Valvoline Inc. will post 1.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on VVV shares. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Friday, December 20th. They set a “hold” rating and a $42.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Valvoline from $48.00 to $46.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Valvoline from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $38.00 target price (down previously from $42.00) on shares of Valvoline in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on Valvoline from $46.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $45.11.

About Valvoline

Valvoline Inc engages in the operation and franchising of vehicle service centers and retail stores in the United States and Canada. The company, through its service centers, provides fluid exchange for motor oil, transmission and differential fluid, and coolant; parts replacement for batteries, filters, wiper blades, and belts; and safety services, such as tire inflation and rotation, bulbs, and safety checks.